Rutledge: More transparency on outside groups LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A little more than a month after winning the Republican nomination in a primary fight marked by heavy involvement by outside groups, attorney general candidate Leslie Rutledge said Wednesday she supports requiring more transparency about such organizations' involvement in state-level campaigns. Speaking to the Political Animals Club, Rutledge said she'd support requiring outside groups to disclose details about their spendin...

Minimum wage plan meets initial signature count LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposal to gradually raise Arkansas' minimum wage is one step closer to appearing on the November ballot after petitions for the measure passed an initial signature count. Secretary of State Mark Martin said Wednesday an initial count found that 64,000 signatures were submitted for the proposed initiated act backed by Give Arkansas a Raise Now. The group needs 62,507 signatures from registered voters to qualify for the ba...

Police chief on trial for excessive force HARRISON (AP) — A trial started this week for the chief of the Bull Shoals Police Department, who is accused of using excessive force against a suspect. Police Chief Daniel Sutterfield is charged with depriving Nicholas Dore of his rights and attempting to cover up the incident by ordering fellow Bull Shoals officer David Chatman to write a false report. Prosecutors said Sutterfield, 35, kicked and beat Dore with a shotgun and threw him into a...

Woman killed while jogging along road PRAIRIE GROVE (AP) — Authorities say a woman was struck and killed while jogging along the side of a highway in northwest Arkansas. The Prairie Grove Police Department says the collision happened Tuesday morning along U.S. 62. According to police, 46-year-old Deborah Hildebrand was killed upon impact when she was struck by an oncoming Jeep Cherokee. Authorities say the driver of the Jeep was taken to the Washington County jail on suspicion of ...

Courthouse shut down by fleas reopens ASHDOWN (AP) — A Southwest Arkansas courthouse has reopened after it was closed for flea fumigation. Little River County officials closed the historic county courthouse on Friday and employees got a half day off with pay. County Judge Clayton Castleman told the Texarkana Gazette the courthouse was besieged by fleas for weeks. He worries that squirrels roaming the courthouse lawn and trees have been transporting the pests. Castleman says employ...

US House OKs measure to rename post office PERRYVILLE (AP) — The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a resolution renaming a Perryville post office in honor of the first American prisoner of war executed during the Vietnam War. The House passed the measure Monday to name the facility the Harold George Bennett Post Office. The resolution was sponsored by Arkansas U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin and co-sponsored by the three other members of Arkansas' House delegation. Bennett was born in T...

Lawyers seek life for convicted killer TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — Lawyers for a man sentenced to die for killing a farmer in southwest Arkansas more than 20 years ago are asking that he get life in prison instead because he has a mental disability. The Texarkana Gazette reported Frank Williams Jr.'s case is back in trial court after the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a new penalty hearing, citing problems with his original sentencing. Williams, 47, was found guilty of capital murder in...

Vandalized runway partially repaired COLLEGE CITY (AP) — A Walnut Ridge Airport runway has reopened after $60,000 in damages closed it for two months. Airport Manager Michelle Anthony told The Jonesboro Sun work to repair the May 10 vandalism is ongoing. She says the lighting system is working. Airport surveillance video shows two ATVs entering the property at night and circling the runway for about an hour. They destroyed at least nine lights and two signs. A lightning strike ha...

Search continues for missing inmate PINE BLUFF (AP) — Corrections officials say the search continues for a convicted killer who escaped an Arkansas prison more than three weeks ago. Department of Correction spokeswoman Shea Wilson says the agency continues to follow up on tips and reported sightings of inmate Timothy Buffington, who escaped the Pine Bluff Unit on June 21. But Wilson said Monday that there's been no confirmed sighting of Buffington apart from surveillance video t...

Cotton says he's raised $2.28M during quarter LITTLE ROCK (AP) — U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton raised $2.28 million over the past three months in his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, the Republican's campaign said Monday, outpacing the two-term Arkansas incumbent as their nationally watched race grows more expensive and heated. Cotton's fundraising haul bests the $1.5 million that Pryor announced raising during the same period. Tuesday is the deadline for campaigns to report their qu...

Poyen teacher named Rural Teacher of the Year LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Poyen Public Schools math teacher Ouida Newton has been named the 2014 Arkansas Rural Teacher of the Year by the by the Arkansas Rural Education Association and the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. Newton has taught at Poyen since 1979 and says her goal is to not only teach math but to teach her students to be problem solvers and lifelong learners. Newton received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Henderson St...

Authorities release names of 2 shot near Vilonia VILONIA (AP) — The Faulkner County Sheriff's Office says it is investigating a double shooting outside Vilonia as a murder-suicide. Authorities on Monday identified the dead as Stephanie Hermes, 32, and Kevin Battle , 50. The shooting was reported at about 10 a.m. Monday at a residence on Arkansas 236. Police said Battle was found dead and Hermes was airlifted to a local hospital, where she later died. Investigators say the two were in a previ...

Applications being accepted for energy assistance BENTON (AP) — The Central Arkansas Development Council is still accepting applications for the regular Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The LIHEAP program assists households with home energy bills. Eligible households must meet income guidelines and furnish proof of all household income for the month prior to applying. Applications are accepted on a first come, first serve basis.

Pryor raises $1.5M over quarter for re-election LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor's campaign announced Friday he's raised $1.5 million over the past three months in his increasingly expensive and heated fight for a third term in a nationally watched race. Pryor's campaign said the Arkansas lawmaker has raised nearly $9 million since launching his re-election bid last year. The campaign did not say how much he has spent over the past three months. "As we head toward the home...

Marion County woman convicted of Medicaid fraud LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Marion County woman has pleaded guilty to felony Medicaid fraud for billing the state's Medicaid program for services she did not provide, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says. Amanda Coker, 36, of Yellville was convicted in Pulaski County Circuit Court on one count of Medicaid fraud. Special Circuit Judge John Plegge sentenced Coker to five years of probation. Coker was also ordered to pay a fine topping $10,000 and rest...

Suspect arrested in double homicidePINE BLUFF (AP) — A Mississippi man has been arrested in connection with a double homicide in Jefferson County. Authorities said William Cody Childress, 21, was arrested Saturday in connection with Friday morning's discovery of the bodies of Anthony Branch, 62, and Deborah Moncrief, 58, inside a Jefferson County residence. After collecting evidence inside the residence and interviewing family members of the victims, investigators located Child...

Ross, Hutchinson spar over wage, health care HOT SPRINGS (AP) — Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mike Ross and Republican Asa Hutchinson tried to portray one another as out of touch with Arkansas voters as they clashed over the minimum wage, health care and other issues at a debate Friday. The two ex-congressmen primarily focused on each other as they squared off in a four-man debate hosted by the Arkansas Press Association at the group's convention. "He's totally disconnected from worki...

Yellville woman pleads guilty to Medicaid fraud LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Marion County woman has been sentenced to probation, a fine and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to Medicaid fraud. Amanda Coker, 36, admitted in Pulaski County Circuit Court Thursday that she billed the state Medicaid program in 2011 for services she did not provide. She was sentenced to five years of probation, fined more than $10,300 and ordered to pay $3,452.65 in restitution. Prosecutors say Coker work...